Bonny Scotland!

I'm back from Bonny Scotland after a wonderful holiday ~ only 5 days but truly memorable!
This was the furthest north I have ever been ~ and I'm wondering what took me so long!
Over 40 people were there to join Ja for his 18th birthday party ~ me, E and J in B&B, nearly 30 in a large house in Nigg and the rest in the wonderful wonderful wonderful Poyntzfield House.. Wow! This house was unbelieveable and impossible to adequately describe! Look it up on the web and the photos just don't do it justice ~ it's much much nicer than that ~ I urge everyone to go and see for themselves!!
Poyntzfield House ~ the main section with the wings form three sides of the courtyard. You can just see the top of the tower ~ accessible from the top floor ~ windows on all eight sides so you get a wonderful panorama of the surrounding countryside.

Close up of the tower












This is the little window in the middle of the top floor. It looks quite big here but is only just the size for a small child to crawl into ~ which of course they all liked to do! the photo shows how very thick the walls are.















Day One:
Arrived after a 13hour journey that passed all too quickly. Fr and Al had come by the evening before I left with my birthday present: a poppy mug and set of coasters (my fave flower) and lots of foodie bits for the journey up ~ which was really great as I didn't have to waste time going into service stations etc for sustenance. Fabulous scenery especially through the Lake District and along the shores of Lochs Lomond, Lochy and Ness and then over the Beauly Firth to the Black Isle. Quite staggeringly beautiful. Checked into my little B&B and then headed over to Poyntzfield where St, Ri and the Pies were staying along with Ki and her little brood of three. All the children were playing in the courtyard ~ it's a really fabulous and safe place for children ~ and then they all took me for an excited tour of the house. Settled with a long-awaited coffee and enjoying a chat when Jpie ran into something and split open the cut on his chin ~ so a quick trip to Inverness A&E for him, St and me! (He was ok and they just glued him up a bit!). Then a bit more chat and 'home' to the B&B and a long sleeeeep.


Kitchen at Poyntzfield with children snacking





Kitchen: desirable dresser and farmhouse table

Poyntzfield: trampolining in the garden: Th, Jpie, Ki, Cpie and Rich









and Jpie getting in on the act!






Dine in Style here!


The 'boys' lavatory




and the 'girls' lavatory



Stella and Rich's bedroom ~ wooden beams, wooden floor, double aspect and shutters!!!







Corner of the Main Staircase

Day Two
This was the day I went to Pitcaln House, which was where almost everyone else was staying. This is a very large house down a long and impressive drive-way between trees and bushes and with views over the Firth. Heaps and heaps of people were staying so one could never be at a loss for company ~ and David did ALL the cooking for them!! He made a super roastie lunch with all the trimmings and then pudding as well. Despite the fact that there were close to 40 people we were all able to sit down together in the dining room ~ so you can imagine how large it is!!


F'ster on the swing at Pitcaln













Day Three

My birthday!! St, Ri , the Pies and I went to Cawdor Castle which is a castle well worth seeing. We toured the garden first as it looked like rain ~ beautiful formal gardens, a wild garden and even a nature trail.

In the garden: Cpie, Stella, Jpie, Rich and Kpie
Kpie and Jpie
The castle was very interesting with lots of witty and whimsical commentary cards all over the place. Very cosy!! and almost, but not quite, as impressive as Poyntzfield!! We had a picnic in the grounds which was a treat ~ and a bit of a nostalgia trip for me as we often celebrated my birthday with a picnic when the girls were little. We went back to Poyntzfield for tea and lots of people from Pitcaln nipped in too. I was quite tired that night so didn't stay late ~ just long enough for a glass of wine and a general lol about in the drawing room. Arrived back at the B&B to find a half bottle of sparkling wine and a tiny birthday cake with one candle from the B&B people! How kind is that? (Quick plug: Newton Croft Bed and Breakfast at Conon Bridge on the Black Isle ~ lovely place!)

Day Four
Ja's 18th Birthday!! Brilliant Day! Ja looked very grown up indeed and was a lovely host.
Here he is with Stef:
The sun shone and we all had the most stupendous time. Even more people had turned up by this time: from Hertfordshire (mostly), Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Ireland, Warwickshire and Portugal. David did all the barbecueing ~ the man's a wonder!! ~ and everyone else just sort of chipped in when needed. We sat around eating, drinking, chatting and laughing mainly. All the young-ish people played a game of rounders and the children (and a fair proportion of adults) had goes on the tyre-swing. Ja's grandma, Ann, had her birthday that day too so a double celebration. It was a lovely 'family' affair and ages ranged from 2 months (RP) to 70 with absolutely every age in between. Marvellous!!

The Birthday Boy and his little sis!

Day Five
The journey home . . . was somewhat more eventful than the journey up!! But I'll leave that story for another time . . . .

a little bit of stitching . . .

I haven't put any of my stitching on this blog. That's mainly because none of it is anything to write home about! Or write on a blog about for that matter!
I don't generally do large projects and what with needing HUGE magnifiers as well as largest magnification 'reading' glasses, my finishing isn't all that great either! (But of course I am very modest ho ho!)
But I have decided I will put this one on because I am quite proud of it.
The last time Stella, Rich and all three Pies visited with O & G, Jpie wore his little magician's outfit. He looked really cute and the outfit included a top hat out of which he produced a rabbit! Not a real one I hasten to add!
So this is the card I sent him for his birthday last Tuesday. And I would just like to explain that although the stitching is really not that special, I made up the pattern myself. Aren't I the clever old stick?????

i went to the globe!

yay! I have been intending to go ever since it opened ~ the present one I mean! not the original!
Went into work Tuesday morning and then up to London by tube from Watford Met early afternoon. I got off at Westminster and wandered along by the Embankment in glorious sunshine. I love London!
I walked as far as the Millennium Bridge and then crossed to the Tate Modern where I spent a happy hour in the Poetry and Dreams section ~ superbly surreal! This is from the Tate side of the bridge looking back at St Paul's:















And this is the Tate Modern from the north side of the Thames ~ with a bit of the Millennium Bridge 'thrown in'.






I spotted this little old church wiith a mediaeval look to it while going over the bridge ~ I don't know what it is called ~ but I love the fact that it is just THERE surrounded by all those modern buildings













And how typically 'London' is this? A red bus passing in front of Tower Bridge!

The Globe 'evening' was WONDERFUL!! I had paid to go to the pre-show 'setting the scene' talk and that was good . . . because it did! The play was 'Troilus and Cressida' ~ very well played though I'm glad I had read a synopsis beforehand or I'm not sure I would have followed it! It wasn't a bundle of laughs to be honest but the whole experience was extremely enjoyable none the less. You really did get the flavour of how people in Shakespeare's time would have experienced going to a play. Though I'm happy that I had decided on an undercover seat ~ not one of the 700 'standing tickets' out in the rain which fell intermittently all evening!
In all it was a great afternoon and evening and I would recommend the whole experience most heartily! Here is a shot of the Globe seen through the trees from the Millennium bridge:

Answers:
Kim! Fortunately when I bought my coke the girl gave me a can and also a glass so I had both hands full and did't get my 'offering' out of my bag. Otherwise the story would have been worse (or funnier!) with me scrabbling about trying to retrieve the card and donation!
Friko! Well I'm glad someone is as daft as I am!! LOL

a funny thing happened at the party

(all the names have been changed to protect the innocent)
I had been invited to Peter's 60th Birthday Paty last Saturday at the W and F Club. Great! I loke parties and, as I told Sally, Peter's wife with whom I work, I had been there some years before to someone else's 50th.
I arrived at the venue at just after 8.15.
I did think it a little strange when I heard the music ~ Sally had told me that her son's Band would be playing and this was quite definitely disco music. Still, it was relatively early and maybe this was 'warm up' time.
I did thinkit was a little strange when I went in and found, instead of a signn for the G ... Room, as I had been directed, there was just a big sign which said 'Function Room'. Still, I supposed everyone must know that the G . . . Room is in fact the Function Room!
The bar was right there as I walked in and I did find it a little strange that no-one asked to see the ticket with which I had been issued with instructions to be sure I brought it or I wouldn't get in. Still I suppose I look quite a respectable middle aged law-abiding old soul ~ no threat there then!
I got myself a diet coke and wnet intot he main room past the table with a big sign saying 'Please put your cards and donation here'. Well that fitted! Peter had asked for no presents but donations to his favourite charity would be welcome. There were heaps of balloons and big '60' signs all over the place ~ so far so good!
I thought it a little strange that I didn't recognise a soul. But I don't really know Peter that well, don't know any of their friends and of their rather large family I had only so far met Sally's elderly parents. I did think that some of the work people would have arrived by then ~ but maybe they were all being 'fashionably late'.
I spotted a table where two nice ladies about my age were sitting and asked if I could join them as I didn't know anyone. then I asked them'Is this the W and F Club?'
'No' replied one fo them 'this is the V and Y Club' !!!
'Well whose birthday is it then?'
'Oh it's Wendy's' they rather helpfully informed me!
'Oh no! I'm supposed to be at Peter's'!!
'Well this isn't it' they said ~ although to be honest I had kind of worked that one out by myself by then!! LOL
At that moment a very nice, though possibly curious, lady approached the table wearing a big sash thing over her shoulder which announced '60th Birthday' ~ obviously Wendy! she was very nice and laughed and we had a little chat whilst I finished off my coke and then I said I had better go. To Wendy's credit she invited me to stay!! But I said I should go as I was sure I was expected else where.
When I did arrive at the V and F Club ~ after considerable problems actually finding it! ~ I had a great evening. Peter and Sally, and indeed everyone, enjoyed themselves tremendously: we ate, drank and were very merry indeed. Hoorah for birthdays ~ we should have them every year!

High Street Trail

G spotted an advert for the Trail in the local paper recently and since I have been meaning to go for ages, we went yesterday.
I have done a little family history research and was fascinated to discover that G's father's family have lived in Watford since at least 1685 when the town was really just one long street with farms and meadows surrounding it.
Sarah from the Museum was our guide and, despite having been born and lived in the area for most of our lives, both G and I learnt some very interesting new facts.
My photos are, sadly, never as good as I think they are going to be . . . but here is a selection of places of interest:


Having a 'clean' river running through it, Watford was until quite recently a brewing town ~ and had innumerable pubs. This is one of the two which claim to be the oldest. I love the look of this building ~ never been inside though!






The High street is a mile long and St Mary's. the parish church is just about in the middle ~ mediaeval but flint-faced more recently, it is one of the two Grade 1 listed buildings in the town.

The Free School, founded 1704 and the fore-runner of both Watford's Grammar Schools. I used to do my ballet exams here.











Part of the graveyard and the Almshouses ~ again very old and in a fairly quiet backwater near the Free School.











The 'Compasses' window. Apparently, Shakespeare passed through Watford on his way to London. I bet he stopped for a stoup of ale here!








This is Monmouth House built for Sir Robert Carey. He was the chappie who, on the death of Elizabeth I, rode to tell James VI of Scotland that he was now King James I of England as well. In thanks James gave him the title of Earl of Monmouth. It's a beautiful old building ~ shame about all the modern shop fronts!
There is a little sign which you have to look quite hard to see which is the fire-sign mark. This meant that in the event of a fire breaking out the fire service would come and put it out.





This is the sign.


We ended at the pond ~ a walk of about a mile, taking just on two hours ~ and excellent value!!

Book Club Night!

Second Wednesday of the month is always Book Club. I really look forward to these evenings!
Last night it was at Cat's and we had read 'How to Kill your Husband (and other handy household hints)' by Kathy Lette. Eight of us were there and Jo, who couldn't make it, had sent her comments. The title had made me smile and I had thought that it would be a humourous book ~ I couldn't have been more wrong! This book was the most awful drivel!! No-one liked it: badly written, poor 'jokes', feeble plot, unlikeable characters, vulgar, distasteful, totally unbelievable ~ these were some of the kinder comments! I would never read anything by this author again and I find it hard to believe that she is a 'best seller'.
The evening was most enjoyable, however. FI was still up when I arrived though just about to go to bed assisted by Im; and RP stayed downstairs where we could all admire him. Cat had made the most scrumptious carrot cake ~ and we were all staggered at the fact that she had time and energy to make it whilst looking after two children under 3!! Oh yes! and we had a jug of Pimms too. Cat really knows how to entertain!
Today was quiet at work so I finished at mid-day and came home ~ where I found G beavering away in 'his' ~ used to be 'Boogy's' ~ shed. He was just about to stop so we had a coffee and I drove him home. Came home and got the Camp Accounts right up to date and then went back up to O&G's for dinner.
My exciting news is that I have just reserved a place on a trip to Rome ~ wwhheeeeeeeee!! The company is sending me the booking form in the post and I won't believe I'm going until I'm actually on the plane! My trips have a habit of falling through: last autumn I was going to go to Paris and then fell and broke my wrist! Hope I have better luck this year . . . .

A Republican??

Ja is the Pies' other grand-mother and I was telling Kpie about Ja getting her MBE. I didn't think she would really understand so I told her it was like a rare badge with a red ribbon that you were given if you were really really special. And you had to go up to London to receive it. And someone very very important gave it to you. I asked her who she thought this really important person could be . . . .
'Gordon Brown . . . . ?' she asked.

Seven Twelfths of a Counting

Yesterday both Kpie and Jpie were still slightly under the weather so just St, Cpie and I nipped up to see O&G and checked out how the rest of the family enjoyed their Counting. Everyone except Ma had gone to Ca and Da's house. They had stepped magnificently into the breach created by us being poorly. O&G had had a very good time and loved seeing the little ones. It was a shame we missed being with them too but better that than cause more illness!

Here are Cpie and G in the new flat. We stayed for a coffee and a chat and then went back home.
Despite all the illnesses it was a lovely week-end ~ families eh? who'd be without them?

Five Twelfths of a Counting

Every year our Family have a get-together which we call 'The Counting'. This year it was going to be at my house.
I arrived home from work around 10 on Thursday to find St Ri and the Pies had arrived. Yay! Pies fast asleep in bed and St and Ri hanging about relaxing. We sat around eating caake, drinking wine and chatting until mid-night and then toddled off to bed. Followed a night of sickness . . . Half of us were sick, a third of us mopped and sponged and stripped beds and tended to the patients . . . and Cpie, luckily, slept through it all.
It didn't seem fair on anyone else to run the risk of catching it ~ it was really horrid! ~ so decided it would be best to cancel. So it was just the six of us until Fr, Al and the Pips arrived late afternoon. We had a great time nonetheless. Ri did the barbie, St bossed us all about a bit . . . and the Pies and Lpip played in the garden.
I'm not sure if all children do this although I suspect they do . . . . certainly St and Fr and the Awks cousins did. But when ever they got together they always had to put on a 'show' of some sort. On Saturday, for the first time, Kpie organised a little playlet: a dramatic rendition of Jack and Jill utilising the slope outside the kitchen. It was hilarious!! Someone managed to catch it for posterity on my camera ~ the first of many I'll be bound.
Here are some photos:



Cpie, Kpie and Jpie playing bowls.





Jpie ~ always smiling!


Cpie doing the 'splits'



races ~ Kpie and Lpip












Lpip, Jpie, Cpie and KPie







St helping Lpip with 'ballet'













. . . . and . . . . how could we forget . . . . Dpip!

a funny thing happened at the supermarket . . .

Have just returned from a quick visit to Sainsbury's.

I had almost finished my shopping and was pushing my trolley down the last aisle but had to stop because a man was bending down picking something off the shelf. He straightened up, looked at me, smiled and put a bottle into my trolley. He then glanced at me again and I suppose I must have been looking somewhat bemused because he stared into the trolley, smiled again and said, 'Oh I thought you were my partner. I wondered why we were getting mayonnaise'. !!

I didn't hang around to see if his partner was my dopple ganger although maybe I should have done!!

Oh dear . . . . I hope he isn't gay!!

Is everyone deaf in the Summer?

What is it about warm weather that makes people turn the volume of their radios up to ridiculous levels? It's almost as though they are proud of the hulla-baloo they are creating! Pitiful deluded creatures!
As I write this I can hear a veritable cacophany blasting from next door.
The poor soul who lives there is only about 17.
He is 'listening' ~ he must have cotton wool in his poor ears to withstand the racket ~ to some dire clamorous row I can only describe as hell-ridden.
And it happens where-ever one goes in the summer-time ~ in built up areas at least.
Oh for the peace and tranquility of Gillan Creek!

chicken run!

Number 12 has been somewhat bedevilled by vagabond birds in the last week or so!
Firstly Fr came over to use the computer and discovered she was not alone in the library ~ a robin had somehow managed to find his way in and was fluttering about over the top shelf ~ the one which has all my files on it. It took some time to persuade him he would be bettter off outside but eventually he left . . .
And today as I was up a ladder painting the very top of my shed I looked down and saw that number 11's three chickens had escaped into my garden and were hovering around in a very shady fashion. It was a bit of a blow to find that the neighbours were off out somewhere ~ didn't want to have to catch them myself! But La knew where they were, quick phone call and Ri came back to rescue them and take them back home. Shame really as I rather liked the idea of chickens wombling about in my patch. Now if it weren't for the foxes who live in number 13's garden . . . . .

An easy post . . .

I found this on another blog ~ and since it was an easy option . . .

The things I've done are in red.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (not land, but Disneyworld)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke shameful . . . but true!
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business ~ how could I have forgotten the R.I.P. ?? (my 'insurance scheme' in third year at secondary school ~ oh dear!)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Guide Cookies (actually Campfire Girl candy)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem*
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

I think I may be supposed to tag people but always feel embarrassed to ask! If you read this and would like to do your own list, please let me know and I can look at your blog!

it's been a good week for . . .

babies!
I spent three days with fr, lpip and dpip ~ which was lovely. I thought I would be 'of use' but, honestly, fr is doing so well that basically I was redundant!! (although made welcome!). Still, I had a very nice time and had lots of cuddles with Dpip, lots of laughs (and cuddles) with Lpip and lots of cups of coffee.
Then yesterday I managed to get over and see RP as well who is just as beautiful as Dpip! It was lovely to see Ca looking so well. RP slept on my lap for a good long time while Da and I toasted him with a very welcome glass of vino (poor Ca had to miss out sadly!)
photos!
I have been promising myself for ages that I would get all my photos in order ~ boring but hopefully ultimately satisfying! ~ and spent quite a lot of time doing just that yesterday. I am amazed at the sheer quantity of photos we have managed to amass over time but have now sorted most of them at least into 'year order', set aside loads of duplicates to give to other people and even binned a load of stuff like fireworks (!), bonfires (!!), sunsets (!!!) and waves (!!!!). I mean, honestly !!! Seen one seen 'em all!!
ageds!
I must say I am really enjoying having O&G living closer. Took them to Mass today and then back to their's for lunch. We had to come over here to collect a saw and chuck key for G and then at G's request went to look at the site of the allotments which he and my Grandfather used to have back in the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. And the 20s too probably in my grandfather's case. It was encouraging to see the numbers of plots still being used. Although I don't like gardening myself I am always pleased to see a well tended plot of earth and there were certainly plenty of them to be seen. G and I went for quite a good walk arbout and right in the very far corner was a man keeping bees ~ he had three hives altogether. I don't know exactly what he was doing but I was very pleased to see it! ~ beekeeping always seems such a nice traditional country pursuit!
videos!
I'm always videoing stuff which I then forget to label (duh!). Last evening I decided to watch one of these poor labelless articles which had been knocking around in the cupboard for ages. Imagine my surprise and delight to find it was 'The Importance of Being Earnest' with Judi Dench, Rupert Everett and Colin Firth! Hoorah! I have seen it before but to my mind it's one of those plays one should watch at least once every couple of years!

what are the chances . . . .

. . . of having two great-grandsons born on the same day? and just 3 hours 36 minutes apart? gosh! I wish I were a statistician!

O&G managed to see both RP and Dpip this week-end ~ and were delighted with both of them.
We all had a lovely, but very busy, visitor-full, week-end. It was GREAT!!

an exciting day . . .

. . . because both Fr's and Ca's babes were born today!
Ca and Da's arrived 10.01 this morning ~ a little boy weighing in at 9lb 2 oz
and Fr and Al's at 1.37 this afternoon ~ another 'little' boy weighing 10lb 14 oz
both mothers and both sons doing well
I wish I could blog their names as they are both really nice ones ~ Ca's babe will be referred to on here at RP and Fr's will be know as Dpip ~ a brother for Lpip!
I think I can truly say: the entire family will go to bed tired but happy!

poor tully

my poor cat tullus has been poorly
he was limping a little on thursday night when i arrived home but he didn't want to show me his paw and then he seemed better friday morning, and when i came home from work and then bad again at bed time.
i took him to the vet on saturday and he stayed in overnight while they had a look at him (he wasn't at all happy with any of us!)
i was able to collect him early sunday afternoon by which time he had been sedated and x-rayed, had his paw shaved and been bathed and medicated.
i brought him home, opened his basket and he shot off into the shrubbery ~ very very speedily despite only being able to run on three paws!
poor tully, not the most sociable of cats where non-residents (ie everyone bar me) are concerned so he didn't come back until all my visitors had left.
i managed to bathe his foot ~ though he really didn't like it and gave him his medication (mixed in with his supper so he didn't mind that!!) and he passed a peaceful night.
i'm pleased to say he seems very much better now, the swelling has almost gone and he is walking on the paw again.
tomorrow we go back to the vet's for a quick check up ~ but i think he will be ok
poor tully ~ and he's such a timid cat!

with a bing and a bong and a buzz buzz buzz

whenever st sends me an e-mail she doesn't put in a subject line ~ just gets a random one. i don't know why ~ i don't get them . . . maybe she has signed up for them? . . . i don't know . . .
anyway, they are usually funny ~ here's an example: 'the ants are my friends, they're blowing in the wind' hahahahaha!!
the title of this blogging is the one i received the other day and it's my favourite so far. it makes me think of hugh laurie in 'blackadder goes forth' ~ and maybe it is a direct quote? i don't know that either but i like to think it is an example of typical brit humour . . . but perhaps it isn't . . .
lots of good things have been happening lately ~ ma and ke celebrated their first wedding anniversary and ma's birthday with a party in their garden, im had a super-duper confirmation and celebration and i had a lovely afternoon with fr last week. st, ri and the pies were down last week-end and we visited with o and g and went to a little park just over the High Road where there is a duck pond. o and g are settling in very happily. they had to buy a load of new furniture as most of what they had in the house was far too large for the flat. but they managed to get some good stuff including a very posh sofa and chair. i went shopping with o and i must say it was lots of fun watching o spending on herself!!
no news yet on either newbee or c and d's iminent arrival ~ fr's 'due date' is today and ca's some time later this week . . . . EXCITING!!!!!

it is about time . . .

I wrote on here again!
life has been very busy.
Fr has finished work and is waiting for Newbee to arrive. Lpip is as excited as a big sister who has something to be excited about and is practising being gentle with splendid results! She went to stay with St and Ri and the Pies for a few days soon after Fr finished work and had a lovely time with them.
O&G have moved! yay! They moved out and took possession of the flat on Friday but are staying with me until Er Ja and I have decorated the sitting room and kitchen for them. We having been working like billy-oh up there, have very nearly finished and are hoping to move all the sitting room bits in tomorrow while O gets in and stocks up the beautifully-cleaned-by-Ja kitchen. It has all been a huge laugh with the usual barrage of insults bandied about between the three of us (E J and me I mean!)
Not a great deal of stitching or knitting has been going on as the new job, whilst continuing very enjoyable and interesting, is quite a few more hours per week and I don't have as much spare time as previously. And I don't want to lose any of the social bits!!
And the 'book pile' is growing into a veritable Great Wall on China on my bedside table!

since last I blogged . . .

. . . quite a few good things have occurred . . .
O&G's move to Bushey would seem to be going ahead at the beginning of May ~ fingers crossed!
Mothering Sunday was great! O&G, Frankie, Alex, Lucia and I all met up at the Lily Lounge for Afternoon Tea ~ which was lovely!
I went to the Civic Awards and hob-nobbed with the Great and the Good ~ which was exciting!
Today Alex and Malcolm came and put up my new garden gate and Fran and Lucia came to play and Ricky came and cut my grass and tidied up the garden for a couple of hours. Then Alex, Fran, Lucia and I spent an hour or two in the garden chopping up (mainly Alex) and burning (mainly me) the old interior doors (HOORAH!!!). So today was ~ satisfying!

This was on Do's facebook and I thought I would give it a go:

BBC Reading List

The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
2) Star (*) those you plan on reading.
3) Tally your total at the bottom.

x 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
x 2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
x 3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
x 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
x 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
x 6 The Bible
x 7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
x 8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
* 9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
x 10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
x 11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
x 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
x 13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
x 15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
x 16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
x 17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ~ x
x 18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
* 19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
* 20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
x 21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
x 22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
x 23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
x 24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
x 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
x 28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
x 29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
x 30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
x 32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
x 34 Emma - Jane Austen
x 35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
x 37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
x 38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
x 39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
x 40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
x 41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
x 42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
* 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
* 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
x 45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
x 47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
* 48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
x 49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
x 50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
x 51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
x 53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
x 54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
x 57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
x 58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
x 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
* 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
x 61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
x 64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
x 66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
x 67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
x 68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
* 69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
x 73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
x 74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
x 78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
x 81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
x 85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
x 92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
x 93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
x 94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
x 97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

57 read and 8 that I would like to read!
A triumph of age over 'well-readness' tbh!

it has been another good week . . . .

. . . though very busy!
work continues good and very interesting although 2 evening meetings plus one govs' meet has meant I haven't seen an awful lot of my home this week!
and then on Friday instead of going home and putting my feet up I zipped off up to Yorkshire and spent the week-end with St, Ri and the Pies. Arrived in the evening after a l o o o ng trawl of four and a half hours up the morotorway ~ due to road works and the usual Friday night traffic ~ triffic! The Pies were in bed but not asleep ~ I think they had been waiting up! ~ and then I had supper and sat around talking. To bed very late ~ or very early!!
Saturday was Kpie's Pre-primary Ballet so St and I nipped off there soon after 11. Kpie looked very sweet ~ and she got her certificate so that was good. Back home for lunch and then St did about 2 hours digging in the garden (there is a lot of digging to do!!) and I went with Kpie and Jpie to the little park with their scooters. Quiet evening chatting with St.
Today I played 'Escape from Atlantis' with the Pies and then went with St and Kpie to Dunelm Mill (yay!) and then back for a quick lunch. Just before setting off for home St took me to see 2 new developments of houses. It's hard to believe the prices up there!! About half the cost of similar down here. I'm obviously living in the wrong place!! LOL

I wish I had taken my camera . . .

. . . because my blog looks boring wihout photos I think . . .
This week-end has been good although it started sadly . . .
On Friday I went with my friend F to the funeral of a friend from a long time back. We have known Jim since we were 17 ~ a long time ago now ~ and he had been a very good friend of Boogy's for years before that. The funeral was very sad, but it was good to meet some other old friends and good that quite a number of people were able to stand up and say a few words in tribute. He will be much missed.
F and S had asked me to stay the night at their house and as an anti-dote to the sadness of the funeral we went to a small local theatre/club for an evening of music and poetry (Rhythm and Muse!). It was wonderful! and just what we needed!!
On Saturday, after a leisurely morning and lunch we walked along the tow-path to Kingston for a talk on 'Sculpture between the Wars' mainly featuring Dora Gordine (who I had never heard of before ~ I am making it sound like I am very cultured aren't I?). I enjoyed that too and I certainly learned a lot as I know virtually nothing about the subject!! Back for a quick cuppa and then I came home.
Today has been productive in that I have had a good sorting out of my wardrobe. Lots of things have been 'slung'. They always say you shouldn't keep anything you haven't worn for a year as on that basis you aren't likely to wear it again anyway. I don't actually believe it but I did manage 2 bin bags and the wardrobe looks much better now!
It is still very cold although we have had some lovely sunshine on and off all day . . . and my daffodills are looking very jolly in the garden! I will try to find my camera and get some good shots of them.

The Hallowed Halls of Handyman Heaven

What is it about men and tools?
We have a shop in our town called 'Simbles' ~ I know it fairly well having been forced through its portals more times than I care to remember. Apparently it is the best shop for handymen in the world ~ and I have to admit that if you want anything in the d-i-y line it must be pretty hard to beat. Inside it is like an Aladdin's cave with every square inch (or cm) packed with screws, nails, g-clamps, screwdriver, hammers, spades (I like to call them spades), bits, rulers, hods, drills . . . Lord! . . . I could go on and on infinitum! I mainly know all this because Boogs was forever in and out of the place and Eric, when he visits, insists we drive past just so he can drool a bit (though tbh it is on the way from town to my house and it's a bit of a joke anyway!! (Once when we walked into Watford he made us go in and wander ~ actually it's impossible to 'wander' as the place is so packed with stuff ~ about and we were 'lucky!(!!) enough to be able to watch some video thing about a rotor tool. Wow, you must think, what an exciting life we live!!)

Anyway . . . where is this leading us? Well last evening Frankie phoned and we chatted a bit and she happened to mention that Alex was looking at the Screwfix catalogue ~ I mentioned Screwfix to Eric once and he said it was 'Ok, but not like the real thing' (he meant Simbles). then she phoned again a bit later . . . and he was still reading it!! . . . and then I remembered something a bit later and than that and guess what? He was still reading the Screwfix catalogue. And that's what I mean . . . What is it about men and tools? Now a nice Next catalogue . . . or M&S . . . or Laura Ashley . . .

phew!! what a week!!

It has been so-o-o busy that I don't have time to tell all . . . so here are the 'main' bits . . .
Last Saturday Er and Ja brought O & G down to look at the flat that Stella and I had seen and liked the week before. Fortunately O & G liked it too . . . and during the rest of the week . . . they have accepted an offer on their house, had their offer on the flat accepted and it's all systems go go go!!
Sunday was fairly quiet ~ except for mass with Edna and the Confirmation Inscription Promise.
Monday: work and a quick visit to Fr and Al in the evening to drop off Lpip's present and card for Tuesday.
Tuesday was Lpip's 2nd birthday! Crikey!! TWO!!! Where did the time go. Sadly I couldn't see her on the day as I had work first and then a Govs' meeting in the evening.
Wednesday: Book Group in the evening at Jenny's. Good time was had by all though none of us had enjoyed the book all that much.
On Thurday nothing much happened.
Friday evening I had Berny over for a meal . . . which was lovely. Haven't seen Berny for quite a while so it was lovely to chat and catch -up.
Saturday: Went, fairly early, to the flat for a measure up, noting plugs and all the stuff we didn't take in too well on our other brief visits. Back home and had calls from Er and a very-nearly-2-hour chat with Stella who had been away for a week with the pies. Went to evening mass with Edna and then over to Fr and Al's for a very pleasant and jolly evening.
Today: Fr, Al and Lpip came over for the day. Al has almost finished putting up my fence and it looks great. We had to go to Wicks to get more wood and managed to get a gate too. Hoorah!! Nice private garden for me this summer!! I had a lovely time with Lpip ~ she is very funny and made us laugh and laugh. After they left I tidied up and did a bit of stitching and listened to my Satie cd. Rich told me once it is the most depressing piece of music he has ever heard ~ it is a bit I suppose but in truth most of the music I like is a tad dismal.
Finally: I would like to say how much I enjoyed reading other peoples' the 'Random things'. I have been 'tagged' before and didn't know what I was supposed to do . . . so I'm sorry if I didn't exactly ' play up, play on and play the game' before but I really am game for any other tags!

I have been tagged by St and these are the rules:

1. Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their names.

4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog.

5. For the recipients, leave a comment for the person who tagged you, so they can go and read your answers.

Here are mine:

1. My favourite flowers are: poppies in a field of waving corn, snowdrops peeping out of the snow and purple croci growing in a bright green lawn.

2. I hate my curly hair. When I was young I would have loved to have had dead-straight flame-coloured hair. Now I would just like it not to be grey!

3. I hate to feel hemmed in and always want to be able to see as far as I can ~ the horizon if possible. I don't like being in a room with net curtains at the window.

4. I never go out without my swiss army knife ~ so useful!

5. The furthest north I have travelled is Dundee, Scotland and the furthest south is Montserrat. Montserrat is also the furthest west I've been and Slovenia is the furthest east.

6. When away from home I like to unpack and put away all my baggage ~ even if I am only staying one night.

7. I could worry for England! If I get temporarily distracted, I then worry that I won't be able to remember what I was worrying about!

8. I would like the can-can played at my funeral.

I'm tagging 4 people:

Sarah

Kim

Patti

Jen

and it continued to snow . . .

I went to work ~ stupidly I went in the car as I was convinced the roads would have been gritted once I got out of the estate . . . but they hadn't been. I had a scary few minutes going up Orphanage Road where several, much bigger, cars than mine had been abandoned. But my trusty little Fiesta managed to make it up to the top!
Not a lot of peops made it into work and then just before mid-day we heard that the weather and roads were going to get worse so it would be wise to go home a.s.a.p.
The homeward journey was much easier (DG!!) and I decided to risk the estate roads and did in fact get onto my driveway without any probs.
The afternoon has been great!! Lots of neighbours and children have been out in the road (schools all closed!) playing and having snowball fights. It has been fun to watch them. I brought some stuff home to read and gen up on the new job and have been sitting toasting my toes, drinking hot chocolate and watching the snow falling. Mmmm! Fabulous!!

it's snowing here!

yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

pies for the weekend

St, Ri and the pies arrived Friday evening . . . and we have had a wonderful week-end! We had a quick casserole when they came and then the pies went to bed and St, Ri and I sat around mostly chatting until gone one . . . much too late!! LOL!!
Saturday: St and I went to see four different flats for O and G. Three of them were 'reet manky' but the fourth was quite nice and may be a 'goer'. Fr, Al and Lpip came over late afternoon and we all had a meal together ~ which was fun. The pies and Lpip get along so well it is a joy to see them ~ especially Cpie and Lpip who are only 11 months apart and have a lot of fun together. I always felt a distinct lack of cousins when I was young as I rarely saw mine, so it is a delight to watch my daughters and grandchildren and their cousins enjoying each others' company to the extent that they do!
Today: Lovely morning! Had the pies to myself for most of the time and they were very good drawing and cutting and sticking at the kitchen table. Now they have gone home, calling at O & G's en route and I am getting ready for tomorrow . . . and my NEW JOB!!

a question from last night's quiz!

This foxed us all:
If every one of a certain animal were to be exterminated, within a few months there would be more. Which animal is it?
?? does any one know the answer??

more photos . . .

I went to the Annual Catenian Quiz last evening and amongst those on my table were Ka and To K . . . which reminded me of this photo:

This is moi soon after my arm was plastered. I was rather proud of my 'different' green plasterings ~ until Ka told me it was only the NHS types who have colours ~ all the 'privates' have white!! So here's me looking decidedly plebbie!! LOL!!
It was a good quiz and a great evening: nice company and lots of fun!! ~ even though we didn't win!!

I recently blogged a photo of Lpip and the inside of the front door I had put in last Summer. Here's a pic from outside (I like this photo because you can just see Tully's tail at the bottom). I love the fact that it is dark green ~ looked lovely at Christmas with my wreath on it ~ and I now longer feel so exposed in my hallway! That's the old white door below it (yeuch!).


I have had a lovely week off; I have visited with very nearly all of my immediate family and have had a pleasant time pottering around at home sorting and slinging. Back to work tomorrow . . .